Resolving "The Yips" & Lost Movement Syndrome: A Neurological Reset for Elite Athletes
For an elite performer, there is nothing more disorienting than losing control over a movement you’ve performed a million times. Whether it’s a pitcher who can’t find the strike zone, a golfer frozen over a putt, or an athlete who has lost their "touch," the Yips and Lost Movement Syndrome (LMS) feel like a career-ending betrayal by your own body.
This is not a loss of talent. It is a neurological blockade.
The Science of the "Short-Circuit": What is Actually Happening?
The Yips are rarely about "choking" under pressure. They are a complex physical manifestation of a "stuck" nervous system. When your brain associates a specific movement with high-stakes stress, a past failure, or an injury, it creates a neurological short-circuit.
Your brain’s survival center, the amygdala, begins to override your motor cortex. The result is a mechanical breakdown: involuntary tremors, freezing, or a total loss of the "flow" that once guided your performance. Clinically, this often presents as focal dystonia, where the neuromuscular pathways become crossed, making instinctual movement feel manual and impossible.
Why Mindset Alone Isn't the Answer:
You cannot "think" your way out of a physiological glitch. Standard sports psychology often focuses on "trying harder," positive visualization, or mindfulness. While helpful for general stress, these methods can actually increase internal pressure and worsen the block for an athlete with the Yips.
To resolve the Yips, we must go below the level of conscious thought. We have to address the proprioceptive root, the body's internal sense of self in movement.
The EMDR Solution for Movement Recovery:
Using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), we target the specific "memory clusters" and physiological triggers that initiated the block. By stimulating the brain’s natural processing system through bilateral stimulation, we achieve three critical goals:
De-Link the Stress Response: We disconnect the specific movement (the pitch, the swing, the jump) from the "fight-or-flight" alarm system.
Clear the "Micro-Trauma": We process the specific moments; a public mistake, a bad season, or a physical injury, that caused the brain to stop trusting the body.
Restore Functional Autopilot: We help the brain re-integrate motor patterns so your movements become instinctive and "thoughtless" again.
Reclaim Your Instinct:
I specialize in helping professional athletes resolve the Yips at the source. My goal isn't just to help you "manage" the anxiety; it’s to clear the neurological interference so you can trust your body and return to the game with total confidence.
As a California-licensed clinician, I provide 100% virtual, HIPAA-compliant sessions designed for the professional schedule. We work discreetly to get you out of your head and back into the flow state.
Ready to Reset Your Performance?
Don't let a "software glitch" define your career. Let’s target the root cause and restore your edge.